Judge Denies Missouri Request to Block DOJ Election Day Poll Monitors

A federal judge on Nov. 4 rejected a bid by Missouri officials to block U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) poll monitors.
U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk turned down a motion for a temporary restraining order.
“On expedited consideration of the parties’ arguments, the Court finds that the State of Missouri has not carried the burden of justifying extraordinary relief,” Pitlyk wrote in a 4-page order.
Missouri’s secretary of state and attorney general earlier on Monday sued to block the DOJ from sending personnel to monitor polling places. In an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order, they said that the court should quickly order the DOJ not to send personnel because “absent immediate relief, Defendants will unlawfully enter Missouri polling locations on Election Day, displacing state law without clear authority.”…